Leadership Thoughts for Life Long Learners

Archive for the month “February, 2012”

Can you define what a good organizational culture looks and feels like? While it may be a little difficult to define the many intangible aspects of a positive organizational culture, just about anyone could tell you immediately what destroys organizational culture. The culture is the life blood of an organization. I would even take it as far as saying that vision, mission and even codes of conduct matter little if the culture of your organization is not healthy. So, as a leader, how do I create the culture I desire for my organization? Simply put, there are two elements the leader must consider if culture building is their desire. First, your conduct is the most powerful tool you have to create culture. Secondly, your communication can reinforce your conduct. When these two elements are in place, you will begin to create the culture you desire. One of the largest mistakes leaders make while trying to build culture is by communicating first and expecting the culture to be created. While there is no doubt that communicating a vision has power to create the future, it does little to create culture if your actions are not in alignment. As a leader focus on acting in the way you want others to act, then reinforce your actions by verbally communicating and rewarding others as they emulate what you have shown them. While this process may not create the culture you desire overnight. Consistent actions, backed up by communication will create a culture that is healthy and vibrant.

Leaders learn to delegate. The truth is, while all leaders delegate, I have come to realize not many do it well, and even fewer feel as though they are good at it. The flip side of the coin is that there are many leaders that think they are great at delegating, but when you dig a little deeper you recognize they are not delegating effectively. If delegation is done properly it can produce incredible results. Delegation can maximize the leaders time, it can broaden their influence, and it can aid in producing incredible opportunity for those the leader surrounds himself with. A few quick thoughts to consider as it relates to delegation

First, many confuse delegating a project with dumping a project on someone else. Some leaders pride themselves in being incredible at delegating, but when you dig deeper you will discover those they are “delegating” the project to feel as though the leader is dumping unwanted projects on them. Nothing will build distrust between a team member and leader faster than when the leader dumps what they do not want to do on someone else. Shifting something you are responsible for onto someone else is not delegation.

Secondly, delegating without releasing your team member to actually do the work necessary is not delegation at all, but it is a sign of a control issue. If a project is something you delegate, you must be willing to release the team member to do the hard work, but also you must be the first to praise them for the work when it is done. A true sign of delegating without releasing is if you try to hold your team member responsible for what goes wrong with the project, but you are the first one that desires all the praise if things go well.

Third, delegation without authority is a recipe for failure. If you delegate a project you must empower your team member and give them the authority to actually accomplish what you have asked. You can not delegate a project yet not give the authority required to actually accomplish the project.

Last, delegating without clear expectations and timelines is not true leadership. Delegation requires the leader to set the tone, expectations and timelines for those he is delegating a project too. It is unfair to hold a team member responsible to timelines and expectations which have not clearly been communicated by the leader.

Leadership is dependent on trust. If trust is not established, leadership will not happen. Regardless of your skill, knowledge, pedigree or ability you will not lead others if they do not trust you. Trust therefore becomes the permission slip to lead. Recently I read an article that was published in Leadership Excellence in April 2008. The author of the article was Noreen Kelly. Kelly gave a list of 10 actions the leader must do to cultivate trust within their organization. I found these very helpful and thought I would share them for others to read.

1. Live the Values- match your actions with your words.

2. Tell the Truth – be simple, straightforward and consistent.

3. Communicate, Communicate, Communiate- Listen to others, engage and involve people at the grassroots level of projects. Remind people early and often of the values and expectations of the organization.

4. Have Integrity- Be realistic and make sure you under promise and over deliver.

5. Be Authentic – Engage in honest conversations and be credible. Make sure you words and actions are in alignment.

6. Be Accountable- Admit mistakes and show that you are accountable for your words and actions.

7. Be Transparent – Be visible to others. Give information if it is needed, do not try to lead people who are in the dark.

8. Respect the Individual – Be inclusive and show empathy. Honor people’s feelings and concerns.

Accomplishment is so tricky because it largely depends on what the definition of accomplishment is. I think this is one reason why so many times leaders gravitate towards setting goals and sticking to them with- laser like focus. When we set goals which are very clear there is little question as to whether or not we have actually accomplished what we have set out to do. The very nature of leadership is one of movement and progress, whether it be personally, organizationally or in most instances all of the above. While this is not supposed to be an exhaustive list, I wanted to share a few things to consider to aid you in accomplishing whatever it is you set out to do . The simple words which come to my mind are WHAT, WHY, HOW and WHO. If the leader can answer these questions they will progress towards their desired accomplishment.

What? – If the leader can not identify what needs to be accomplished, it will never happen. The old saying goes like this, “The most accurate individual in the world is the one that never aims at anything.” Clearly define what needs to happen either personally or organizationally and articulate it. The simple act of articulating what needs to happen releases incredible momentum towards accomplishing the task. If using the analogy of a road trip, asking what is like making the decision of where you would like to go.

Why? When the leader knows what needs to happen, they must then answer the question of why it needs to happen. Asking why will not only create buy-in towards the needed change, but it will also create urgency for the task. Why is a question of purpose and purpose brings clarity to you and those you lead. Clearly communicate the purpose for the task and it will instill motivation towards accomplishing the goal. Going back to the analogy of a road trip, asking why is the equivalent of determining the incredible things about the destination you have chosen to visit which you are not part of your current reality.

How? How is a question of strategy. The leader may know what must be done and even have an incredible urgency surrounding why it must be done as it ties back to purpose yet, if the leader lacks a strategy or plan to achieve the task it will fail. Developing a strategic plan separates the dreamers from the doers. How forces us to move from theory to implementation. If what is the destination and why is the reason for the road trip, how is choosing the highway or road that you will take to get where you are going all while keeping your resources in mind. If you choose the wrong road you could run out of resources before ever getting to your destination.

Who? Who forces us determine what kind of leader we need to be to realize the task before us. Strategy, Purpose and Goals mean nothing if the leader is not mentally, emotionally and physically equipped for the road ahead. While many leaders can begin noble causes, only those who have asked the tough question of who will come out the other side mentally, emotionally and physically intact. Imagine for a moment that you spent hours determining where you wanted to go and why you wanted to go there. Then, once you have invested yourself into where and why, you spend valuable time finding out how your going to get there. It would only make sense that for this type of road trip to be successful would require a captain, or a driver that has experience on long road trips. Answering the question of who you need to be before you take the trip could save you a lot of pain in the middle of your journey.

As a leader, WHAT needs to happen? WHY does it need to happen? HOW is it going to happen? Lastly, WHO do you need to become to see it happen? Now, go and accomplish it.

One of the things I used to enjoy as a kid was to take a pack of domino’s and stand them up one by one next to each other. It would take painstaking time to organize everything just right, but if done correctly you could make some incredible shapes and intricate designs. The creation of the domino trail was part of the fun, but the most exhilarating moment of all was when you would give one tiny push on the end domino piece and watch as one by one the rest of the domino’s would fall to the ground. Each domino’s fall would impact the domino next to it and so on until the end result was every domino was on the ground.

While I still have a child- like fascination with domino’s, I have come to recognize the concept which intrigued me is the same we see in organization’s we lead and are apart of every day. The leader has incredible potential to give a little push here or tweak something just slightly and before you recognize it, the domino effect takes place and it impacts the entire organization and system. In the leadership world this is called systems thinking. What you do today, regardless of how small or large it may appear, will affect every part of the organization you lead or are apart of. The incredible aspect of the domino effect is understanding that touching one domino will affect every other domino that you have never touched before. As a leader, one must recognize that their actions and decisions will impact the entire system, even the parts they do not have direct access to.

As the old saying goes, “you are only as strong as your weakest part”, is so true. The impact of the weakest part of your organization can cause it to hemorrhage to the point of no repair. The weakest aspect of the organization is like a constant force on a domino that is pushing against every other aspect of the system. Before long the system breaks down and can not function properly.

The challenge for the leader is to take a step back and view their organization as a set of domino’s. What domino in the system is throwing every other domino off? Do you need to push a little harder, or maybe pull back a little? What small thing are you doing or not doing that is causing an impact that is unhealthy to the culture of the organization you serve? And just for the fun of it, maybe you should go purchase a pack of domino’s and teach some of the leaders within your organization the impact each one of them makes on all the surrounding people in the organization.